AI security startup Straiker has officially emerged from stealth, armed with $21 million in early funding and a mission to help enterprises safeguard their AI-powered systems. Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures, Straiker introduces a platform specifically built to address the growing threats posed by large language models (LLMs), AI agents, and enterprise chatbot integrations.
Straiker’s debut comes at a time when businesses are rapidly deploying AI across workflows—often without fully understanding the new risks this introduces. From data leakage to prompt injection and rogue AI behavior, the attack surface for organizations has changed dramatically. Straiker’s solution is purpose-built to address these unique security gaps.
AI Security Tools Built for Modern Threats
Straiker is launching with two core modules that are already generally available. The first module, Ascend AI, offers both one-time security assessments and continuous red-teaming simulations to test how AI applications respond to various attacks. This includes scenarios involving LLM evasion, data leakage, harmful content generation, autonomous chaos, and excessive agency—a term used to describe when AI agents take actions beyond their intended scope.
The second module, Defend AI, acts as a protective shield. It automatically neutralizes threats uncovered by Ascend AI in real time, offering proactive mitigation to prevent breaches and misuse before they cause damage.
Both tools are powered by Straiker’s proprietary AI Engine, which combines multiple fine-tuned small models to monitor and protect every layer of an AI stack. This engine allows security teams to customize rules and testing scenarios based on the specific needs and risk profiles of their organizations.
A Surge in AI Threats Demands Urgent Action
Straiker CEO and co-founder Ankur Shah emphasized the urgency of the growing AI security problem. “The threat landscape has evolved far beyond prompt injections,” Shah said. “We’re now seeing large-scale data exfiltration, compromised AI supply chains, and autonomous chaos as attackers manipulate the reasoning layers of AI systems.”
He added, “Straiker is the only AI-native security platform capable of delivering real-time, multi-layered protection for AI applications and agents. Enterprises need to act fast—AI is fast becoming one of the biggest cybersecurity blind spots.”
Securing the Future of Enterprise AI
As companies race to integrate generative AI into customer service, internal tools, and product interfaces, platforms like Straiker could become essential. By providing offensive and defensive security modules tailored to AI, Straiker positions itself as a pioneer in the next evolution of enterprise cybersecurity.
With its new funding, Straiker plans to expand its suite of AI-native security offerings and continue onboarding enterprise clients eager to protect their growing fleets of LLMs and intelligent agents.
